Susan's Blog

Tuesday, December 9, 2008

Call the Po-Lice

Shoot. One of the Baby Bellies today said she “might” have lice. I did not let her trade veils today (which they always always do). She was so subdued, poor thing. She is usually just a total bubble of a person, a firecracker, a butterfly. I don’t know if she was worried or if she picked up on my worry? I’ve always dreaded the lice thing, though so far, none of the boys has had it, knock wood.

She must not have been too disheartened by it because she did keep interrupting me as usual to say things like, “Let’s be like Cinderella and…” or “Can we wear lipstick to the show?” I tried not to get too crabby (like, I didn’t say, “How ’bout we wear fat little white parasitic insects on our heads?”) It is like herding cats with the BBs, and next week is our show. A lot of pressure. I even talked to our local newspaper, The Brookline Tab, for coverage, but of course it is not pressing news (probably there will be someone in Brookline who thinks there is an ugly sign somewhere in town, or who thinks the Town should not collect our trash, or some other Very Important Grown Up News Item, so no wonder kindergartners – second graders learning Middle Eastern dance in the schools would be a lesser priority).

Maybe we’d get in the paper if all ten of them caught lice from the veils?

Anyway, I panicked at first when I got home and dumped all the veils into a cold wash (cold because they’re delicate). Now I don’t know what to do and I’m a little nervous about the whole thing. I hope my veils are not ruined, but they are kind of cheap anyway. But this is not going to level me. Some people use lice as a license to ostracize or panic, but I will not.

Regardless, the show will go on, even if we have to use paper towel for our veils.

2 comments

Don’t worry, no reason to panic :D.
I had lice just a month or so ago: I have a little niece who spends a lot of time around us… and around other little children. It’s just what happens. I got rid of them in under a week too.

They can’t survive for very long when they’re not on your head, and the eggs can’t either. So I don’t know how often you use those veils, but even if you don’t wash them, if you just leave them somewhere in a corner or a drawer for even a day or two, it’s very likely that if there’s any eggs or lice on them, they’ll be dead by the next time you use them.

And to kill them by washing them you’d need to use water that’s very, very hot anyway.

— added by Norah on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 9:07 am

This is where you’re grateful you only have BOYS. They rarely get it.

Washing in cold won’t work. Although Norah’s right that they won’t survive w/o a human host for more than 48 hours.

Can you vacuum the veils? (I’m serious)

— Cathy in CT (plenty of lice in CT, too!)

— added by Anonymous on Wednesday, December 10, 2008 at 3:12 pm

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